O God of Israel, the Savior (Isaiah 45:9-17)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“9 Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, 'What are you begetting?' Or to the woman, 'What have you brought forth?' 11 Thus says the Lord, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: 'Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me. 12 I have made the earth, And created man on it. I--My hands--stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,' Says the Lord of hosts. 14 Thus says the Lord: 'The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over in chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, 'Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God.' ' 15 Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! 16 They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols. 17 But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever.”
Introduction
This is an image of a temple in Mexico and this is a statue of Mary and below her, is baby Jesus. As you can see in this statue that Mary is above Jesus and Jesus is below Mary. You can see the reality of idol worship in Mexico. Here in this picture, there is another cathedral in Guadalupe and this region is famous for the painting of “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” They are known to have the second largest cathedral in South America. In this picture, we can see that even within the streets, there are paintings of Mary and people worship her as they walk down the streets. Next, here, we can see the titling cathedral. In this picture, this person was called Saint Juan Bernardino and he had visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus. You can see flowers and roses on Mary’s dress here in this picture and Juan Bernardino had visions to take flowers and roses of Mary. The shiny doors here in this picture, the person standing before these doors is a pastor in Mexico and the person next to him is the interpreter. We can see all of our pastors and the food that we enjoyed there. All of the pastors gathered here and we were finishing our conference, and we took a picture all together. This was a cathedral and these statues are all worshiping Mary. The influence of the cathedral in Guadalupe holds great power in South America. People say that the cathedral in Guadalupe is like the Mary of South America. Many people say that Mary is an idol and it is worshiping idols, and if we told the people in Guadalupe, they would try to fight and kill us. This shows how much they see Mary and the Lady of Guadalupe as a source of life and power for them. As I went to this conference in Mexico to share the gospel, I could see that many people are in the midst of drug addiction, crimes, and suffering in South America because there is spiritual oppression there. We split into groups and went to go share the gospel because so many people were so hungry for the gospel that we were sharing. As we were sharing the gospel, pastor Kim felt so touched. When we don’t have an interpreter, we are sharing the gospel using the translating app on our phone but people are still listening very attentively. If we have to go through this trouble, then we wouldn’t bother to give these messages but all of the people who heard that this conference was going to be held, there were people who walked many miles because they didn’t have a car to drive. They came to visit us and walked 20 days to hear the gospel. I was so touched by this. All of the pastors who attended the conference all confessed that they didn’t give God’s grace but they received grace instead. And they also all confessed that there is great hope in Mexico. We must hold onto the gospel and if we hold onto the gospel, then we are in a place of great blessings.
1. God the Creator
1) The Master of life
Verses 9-11 - The Israelites had a question and the content of their question was, “Why did God make them go through slavery?” Secondly, they asked why God allowed them to be saved through a non-Israelite, a foreign King, Cyrus? Why does God want to save the Gentiles but not just the Jews? We can see why God answered them in verse 9. When a clay maker makes a clay, he can make something great with a good quality clay or he can make it with scraps of leftover clay. But when a clay comes before its creator and questions why or how he is made, then that is complete nonsense. From this message, how this clay is made or what purpose it is made for, this clay has no reason or position to ask these questions.
Verse 10 - For a child that is born from its biological parents, it is the same thing. A child could be born with beautiful features and intelligence. But another child could be born with not as beautiful features or short stature. Or another child could be born into unfortunate circumstances and born poor. If that is so, should a child come before a parent and ask them why did you bring me into this world? God is saying that those who ask these questions, “Woe to them…”
Verse 11 - We are a creation of God and we have no right to question or to command God how things should be. You have no right to be angry towards God. God was saying that He will be furious towards those who question Him.
Psalm 139:13-14 “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” - The one who made you are not your parents but God. God created you so that we could be used by God and He has made all of us in all unique ways. We need to always remember this. God has made us perfect in His eyes. As a creation of God, how should we live our lives? How does a child live? However this child is made or used for, this child or a clay should always remain thankful to their creator. God who created us, we should always remain in thanksgiving and give worship to God for creating us. God who has given us this blessing and allowed us receive this blessing, we should be thankful to our parents and to God.
2) Raised him up in righteousness
God continued to speak in verses 12-13 - Who is God? It is explained here. God created the Earth, mankind, and heavens. He commanded all things and all the universe, and everything. God who created everything and He is the One who commands everything and makes plans for all things. God has commanded all creations. The reason why God chose Cyrus, there was God’s plan behind this. Cyrus didn’t liberate the Israelites because he was intelligent but God allowed all of this to happen. It was because God commanded it to happen. Why did God command for this to happen?
Verse 13 - God was going to rebuild His city. This was the reason. The Israelites who have fallen into idolatry and disobeyed God, God was going to liberate them so that they can restore their righteousness. God raised up Cyrus for this reason as well. Babylon was a powerful nation but God made them fall because He commanded them. The reason why the Israelites were able to return and be liberated was because it was all part of God’s command.
God was speaking about His love and this was the reason why God liberated His people. There were no conditions on how they were going to be liberated. God didn’t expect anything in return. God allowed them to be liberated and return back to their homeland as well as have their belongings returned to them. God allowed all of this. This was because God wanted to rebuild His city and temple.
2. God's Justice
1) Salvation for those who seek Him
We must always hold onto God’s righteousness and justice. God is always seeking after those who seek after His righteousness. God is seeking for sinners so that they can be cleansed. Not only that but those who are weak and lacking, God loves them and allows them to seek after repentance and forgiveness. The Israelites didn’t deserve any of this but God allowed this because He is the God of love and God of justice. This was all foreshadow of what Jesus would do. The salvation that the Israelites received, this salvation will be given also when Jesus comes to Earth. The Israelites who were sinners before God, God allowed them to be liberated. We who are sinners, God sent His one and only Son, Jesus to forgive and save us. When we just believe in this, then we can be saved without any conditions. Then, how can this salvation be fulfilled?
Verses 14-15 - If the cross of Jesus is shown and the purpose of Jesus is revealed, then all people can come before Him. Jesus completed His work on the cross and brought salvation to His people, and this was the blessing that God gave to us. God is continuing to work to fulfill His covenant.
Verse 15 - We cannot see God but God who is unseen to our eyes, He continues to work in our lives. In order to fulfill His covenant, He is working continuously behind the scenes.
2) Judgment to enemies
Those who cannot enter into this blessing and that is seen in verses 16-17 - Those who worship idols and reject God, then they cannot enter this blessing. Those who cannot come before God and cannot acknowledge God and the gospel, then they cannot enter this blessing.
Verse 17 - Those who come before God and rely on God, then they will receive great blessings. How can this be possible? All we have to do is go before God. All of our sins and mistakes before God, just present them before God and lay them down, then we will receive blessings. We will not be put into shame and disgrace. God has guaranteed our salvation and protection if we just go before God.
3. Those Who Receive God's Spirit
1) Peter's resolution
Then, what should we do if we want to share the gospel to all nations? We must hold onto the gospel and make a resolution. Those who have the spirit of God, what kind of resolution should we make? We need to make the same resolution that Peter made.
Matthew 16:16 “Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' ” - Simon Peter made this confession. This is an important message. The moment we confess that Jesus is the Christ, then it is all finished. Then, God will save and protect our soul. Even Peter who ran away from God, he returned back to God.
And, God came before Peter who betrayed and left him, God said in John 21:15, 19 “So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Feed My lambs.' 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, 'Follow Me.' ” - After Jesus heard Peter’s confession of love, Jesus made this command. This is what God wants from us. We must hold onto this covenant. This is not Peter’s covenant but this needs to be our covenant as well.
John 21:19 - Those who follow God, great blessings will come to you. Amazing power will come upon you as well.
2) Paul's resolution
The second resolution was made by Paul in Acts 9:5-6 “And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?' Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' Then the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.' ” - As soon as God saw Paul, God commanded Paul that there was a plan prepared for him right away. We know that God called Paul to do world evangelism. God’s greatest concern is world evangelism and saving lives.
Paul, who returned to God, Paul confessed in 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” - Paul who realized the gospel, he made a great realization. He realized how great the gospel of the cross was. This gospel has the power to save, this was what Paul realized.
Paul also confessed in Philippians 3:8 “ Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” - Paul made an absolute resolution before God. That everything in this world, they are all rubbish. Everything that was given to him, they are all rubbish because he gained Christ. May this become your resolution as well.
3) Priscilla and Aquila's resolution
This was when Paul met Priscilla and Aquila and this meeting was all part of God’s plan.
Acts 18:2, 26 “And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” - May the same works happen to our lives. We need to relay the correct gospel to people around us, no matter who we meet. After Priscilla and Aquila realized that Apollos lacked the correct gospel, Priscilla and Aquila shared the correct gospel to him. Due to this, Apollos was saved. Apollos was used greatly by God because of Priscilla and Aquila.
Romans 16:4 “Who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.” - Priscilla and Aquila risked their lives for the gospel. What does this mean? Priscilla and Aquila staked their lives for the gospel. They were willing to die for the gospel. This was the resolution that they made. They received great answers and answers of the age due to their resolution and devotion. May the same blessings come to our church members.
Conclusion
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.” - What does this mean? God who loves us and the one who gives us hope and grace is God, our Father alone. May we hold onto this Bible verse and have victory.
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